[4] He began his career as a singer in the choruses of several musical comedies, making his conducting debut with theatrical touring companies in 1920,[2] initially with the Shaftesbury Theatre.
[3] The earnings from this funded his study period in Dresden, where he also became a répétiteur and assistant conductor to Kurt Striegler.
[2] On 15 January 1930 he married the writer Bea Howe,[6] author of the group biography A Galaxy of Governesses (1954), regular contributor to Country Life and a close friend of Sylvia Townsend Warner.
[11] It was one of at least 12 musical comedies he wrote in collaboration with the playwright and BBC producer C. Denis Freeman, including Seat in Hyde Park (1931), His Majesty Proclaims, Fame in a Night, Uplift, Wonderful Weekend (1932)[12] and The Castle on the Hill (1933).
A later radio operetta was The Rose and the Violet (1942), with book and lyrics by Barbara Cartland, set against the Edwardian background of Rotten Row.